Coupling for railroad-rails



(No Model.)

H. C. BURKHRAD.

COUPLING POR RAILROAD RAILS.

No. 33];612. Patented Bec. 1l 1.885.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY CLAY BURKHEAD, OF HARDIN SPRINGS, KENTUCKY.

COUPLING FOR RAILROAD-RAILS.

SIDECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No..331,6112, datedDecember l, 1885.

Application tiled September 1T, 1885. Serial No. 177,372, (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY O. BURKHEAD, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Hardin Springs, in the county of Hardin and Stateof Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCouplings for Railroad-Rails; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and toletters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in couplingsfor railroadrails; and it consists in combining, with the adjacent endsof the rails, the flanges of which are provided with notches, a platehaving up wardly-projecting portions which enter said notches, the endsof the rails and said plate being held upon each other by acoveringplate, as willbe hereinafter fully set forth, and speciiicallypointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings,which illustrate my invention, Figure lis aperspective view of my-improvement, showing the same applied to the endsof a railroad-rail. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, and Fig. 3 is aperspective view showing the parts separated from each other.

A A represent the adjacent ends of the rail, the flanges of which areprovided with notches a a, into which will lie the upwardly-projectingportions a of the plate A.

B represents a covering-plate, the edges of which are turned upwardlyand inwardly, so as to embrace the fianges of the rail, and saidcovering-plate is provided with recesses b, into which the spikes thatare driven in the ties will 4o Vplate B is then moved over the joint andthe plate A', thus holding the parts securely together.

It will be seen by the construction hereinbefore described thatfish-plates are entirely dispensed with, and that the ends of the railsare provided on their under sides with abearing-surface, which will keepsaid rails even, besides holding them firmly together.

I claim- Ina joint for railroad-rails, the rails provided with notches ac, a plate with upwardlyprojecting portions,which enter said notches,and a covering-plate, B, provided with notches b, with which engagespikes, so as to prevent longitudinal movement thereof upon the rails,substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

h. HENRY CLAY 1 BURKHEAD.

mark.

Witnesses:

J. E. MEEcE, G. T. CONDER.

